Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.
Author: zimagesto
Title: Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R
Chapter 17
Jack Strois looked around the room pleased. Kate was watching them all blissfully, a huge grin on her face.
"This is quite the day, huh? Haven't had such a mad one in… wow, about three hundred years when there was that mad battle between Rooklooks and O'Reaven. Remember that one, Jacky?"
Strois shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Be quiet. This is a sober and historical moment."
"Right. Gotcha" she nodded and landed on the floor, made her wings disappear and conjured herself a chair on which she sat backwards, facing Strois. "So, tell them about the Legacy of Slytherin!"
"I was getting there" he replied. "Pay attention if you want to stay here, Kate and stop interrupting. In the time of the Founders a war was building up between dark and light, a war that would be devastating for everybody. This war would remain in the history of the wizarding world for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. Hogwarts was constructed not only as a school, but as a military building against the armies of darkness. Its many corridors and rooms would be able to host thousands without problems and the wards would keep the other armies away. It would be a memorable and truly devastating war. Now, please, all of you who indeed heard of this war raise their hands."
Only Hermione, Harry and few others raised their hands, to the surprise of others. Professors were looking at them as if they'd grown another head.
"I never heard of it!" McGonagall said, surprised.
"Precisely" Strois nodded. "Mrs. Granger, could you please tell us why nearly nobody knows about it? I see you have somehow found a book called "Hogwarts: the History"."
She blushed and took a deep breath.
"Because it was supposed to happen, but then… it didn't. The darkness just disappeared."
"Exactly" the Owner of Hogwarts agreed. "There was a big battle, but nowhere near what they had expected. The kingdom of Fal'sil and the Four Founders fought together against the dark creatures from another world that Voldemort also has now. But at the end, the Great Beast, a black creature with the body of a lion and wings and head of a dragon attacked. It was the leader of that army and it had had no illusions about the outcome… it was doomed to loose. You see, the Great Beast was nothing more than the body of a much more dangerous foe that wanted a more complete victory upon its enemies than it would get by defeating four wizards and a kingdom. It wanted Earth and other worlds, but it was not powerful enough to win then and there…"
Strois paused and smiled.
"And there is also something else. This dangerous foe, called 'the Dark Cloud', or the Blackness, could not take the shape of a human being, no matter how hard it tried. It could look like a human, but something would always feel wrong about it. Humans would never obey it, and it knew it. And it wanted to rule humans, because they are very powerful, some would say they are one of God's favorite species. So it decided that because it was immortal, it could wait for better conditions of ruling."
He made a small pause and looked around the Great Hall making sure everybody had understood.
"And it had decided to inhabit the royal family of the Fal'sil forever. The Chase family."
"NO!" Jane Chase cried and everybody looked at her.
"But it couldn't reach Roxana Chase, the queen, because she was protected" Jack continued and Jane let out a relieved breath. "Instead, it decided to inhabit one of the Founders, the best friend of Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin. It nearly killed him, putting him in a coma for a long time. The other three eagerly awaited for him to awaken. At the time that he did, he tried to kill Gryffindor. After that he ordered the basilisk he had bred to remain in the Chamber of Secrets until it could smell his scent again. He had created the Chamber to protect Hogwarts. Now he wanted it so he could satisfy the Cloud's will. After that he escaped… He was a noble and powerful man, a good man until the Cloud touched him and he ended up fighting with it until the end of his life, which made him mad. Finally he killed himself. Unfortunately, the Dark Cloud passed from him to his heir and then to the heir's heir and so on, becoming the legacy of the Slytherins. It verified the magical power of children at birth and took over their minds if it wanted to. Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort's grandfather lived with it since he was six. Marvolo's son carried it from birth. Marvolo's daughter never had it within her… But the moment the Cloud saw Voldemort, it took over him and destroyed everything that made him human. I pity the one who believes he is Voldemort, for he is nothing more than a tool."
There was a long pause and Strois conjured himself a large black armchair.
"So Voldemort never really was himself" Hermione muttered to herself, but surprisingly, everybody heard that.
"You are right" he answered. "We are now facing the Dark Cloud, not the Dark Lord. And we must vanquish it. I will be here to guide, but I cannot help you. It is forbidden."
"Why?" Draco asked.
"Because if I enter the war, many beings with great power on the other side will too. We would be able to defeat them, but many of you, maybe all of you, would not be around to enjoy victory. It is why us immortals do not often have wars."
"Are you a vampire?" a Hufflepuff asked and he turned his head towards her smiling slightly.
"No. I am not a vampire. I am something else. My kind do not have a name, maybe because I am one of a very small kind, only five of us. Call me an angel, if you wish. A special type of angel."
There were whispers around the all and even Kate Backfield seemed surprised.
"Whoa! An angel, Jack-o!"
"It's the closest thing to what I am, though I may be rewarded with humanity someday…" Strois replied nostalgically. "But never mind that. It's not relevant. All to bed now. You've got school tomorrow and it won't do for you to fall asleep during classes."
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It was three days since Strois had appeared in the castle. Everybody was still whispering down the corridors about him, but it had gotten calmer. He'd arranged himself a room somewhere and was rarely seen. In fact, he was only seen when he wanted to be seen.
Amala hurried down the corridors, wrapped in her cloak. Tonight she was going to Severus, but it was close to curfew and she wasn't sure how well any Professor would take it if she told them she was going to spend time with her boyfriend and that's why she was out of bed. Oh, she could just imagine McGonagall's face! "Professor, I swear, Professor Snape will punish me for being out after curfew, you needn't worry!"
"Amala Wright!"
She stopped dead in her tracks, her cloak swishing around her for a second. She turned back, scouting the opened door she hadn't noticed. Strois stood in the frame, regarding her peacefully.
"Yes?"
"You don't have a History of Magic Professor, do you?"
"No, sir" she replied, wondering what he had in mind.
"I could take the job myself, but I'm not sure I want to" he said, thoughtfully. "I was actually considering offering your aunt this job. What do you think?"
"Me, sir?" she asked, surprised.
"Drop the 'sir'. And yes, you. What do you think? I already have my mind made up, but I am curious."
"Well, you would probably be a good teacher, since you were around when history was written" Amala replied and instantly wondered if it was rude to say that. Watching him carefully and seeing that he was only attentive, she decided it wasn't rude. "But Mona is a nice person and she likes history, so she'd do great too. Anybody would be better than Binns."
Strois smirked.
"That I know. Well, your aunt will be the new History of Magic Professor starting the day after tomorrow. And when she will want to leave, I just might hire Kate Backfield. For sharing the humorous parts of history."
"The Death woman!"
"Yes, her. She's sweet. Maybe I'll get Death to do me a favor. Well, go then. Your boyfriend awaits and I can tell he loves you very much… Don't forget that. And don't forget that both you and he are free beings."
"Um… ok" Amala replied, frowning a bit. "Goodnight."
He nodded in farewell and she turned on her heels, hurrying even more down the corridors. How did he know where she was going? Well, maybe it was obvious, but what about the odd things he said? Maybe he was just being odd.
She stopped in front of Severus's door and knocked gently. It swung open and she could see him right in front of her.
"Hi!" she whispered and entered the room, feeling him close the door behind her. His arms circled her waist and his breath tickled her neck.
"Welcome" he said slowly.
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Morning came quietly upon Hogwarts and Amala woke in Severus's arms. She shifted a bit and felt him hold her tighter.
"You awake?" he whispered softly.
"Yes" she replied in the same way.
"There is something that I need to tell you."
She turned so she would be facing him and her gaze stopped upon his worried black eyes.
"What is it?"
"I cannot be too subtle, and for that I am sorry" he said quietly. "I love you… you know that. But I am also in love with Monica."
There was a short pause. Amala said nothing. Was this it? Was he dumping her? She couldn't blame him. Mona was much more experienced and open and well… she was a wonderful person.
"She is also in love with me… it's a flame that never died."
So this was it. Well, this night had been great and…
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked into those black eyes, at the vulture-like face that reminded her of a warrior who'd had it bad in his life, at the hair that was falling on his face. Would he never hold her again like that? Never kiss her?… she felt as if something was taken away from her. Truly speaking, something was taken away.
"I understand" she whispered, feeling her voice become hoarse.
"You do?" he asked, surprised.
"Of course. Listen, I won't be in the way of your happiness. And neither in the way of Mona's happiness. I care about you two too much."
Severus's eyes grew large for a few seconds, and he looked puzzled.
"I never thought you'd accept things so easily."
Tears started falling from her eyes and she masked them by getting up and pulling on some clothes. She didn't want him to see her crying. He was… the most wonderful thing that had happened to her… Too good to be true. Too wonderful.
"I do accept, Severus. It's not easy, but I manage."
"Thank you" he whispered. "You are a wonderful woman, Amala."
There was a lump in her throat as she heard his happiness. Of course he'd be happy… and that was what mattered, right? She wiped her face with her hands, removing the salty tears.
"I… I… Love you, Severus and… I want you to be happy, ok?"
He got up from bed and hugged her from behind, not seeing her face.
"You're a truly wonderful woman."
As he kissed her neck gently, she pulled away and turned towards him, sniffing.
"You don't have to do that, ok? If you love her, you don't have to pretend to care for me, I know it's over."
"What?" he asked, petrified. "But… But I do love you!"
She snorted.
"Don't lie to me, please, ok? Go, be happy and don't worry about me. You didn't have to make love to me tonight if you didn't want to."
"What!"
"Really, I'll just disappear now, and I won't trouble you, sincerely. Please, be happy, ok? And don't forget me. That's all I ask of you, Severus. And I'll go back to my parents' then, although it was sweet of you to offer me to live with you and I won't forget that. Thank you for loving me and… well…"
"Amy, no, that's not quite what I meant when I said…"
"No, stop. Don't say anything" she asked and left out the door in his living room and then going out on the corridor, feeling that in less than a minute she'd start crying.
"Amy, stop!" he cried behind her, but she just couldn't do it. "Don't make me run naked around the castle after you!"
She started running, incapable of facing him.
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"Well, Monica, it seems we've struck a deal" Strois said, grinning at the beautiful woman in front of him.
"Hell, I know how boring History classes are, I mean, I've taken a few in my days. Sure, I'll hold them for awhile, but I'm not really the type of woman who stays long in a place, so I don't know for how long."
"It's ok" he answered and winked. "Thanks for the most wonderful and fructuous meeting."
In an impulse, he leaned over, hugged her and kissed her on the lips, making her laugh.
"Do you mean to be giving me any very subtle clues as to your feelings of never dying love for me?" she asked with a wink.
"No" he snorted. "Take care of that boyfriend of yours and your niece, because there's been a terrible misunderstanding and they're both suffering like idiots now. You see, he just told her he loves you and she understood that she was being dumped and fled before he could explain the situation. If I were you, I'd tell him to take it easy and not worry. Amala will have another boyfriend in a short time."
Monica laughed, petting him gently on the arms that he was still holding around her.
"That's a great consolation, indeed."
"Well…" he replied, stepping away from her. "In a way, it is. Trust the word of an old guy who tends to know more things than people would like him to. I frankly don't mean to intrude, but what can I do? Knowing things is in my nature."
"It's ok, as long as you're not sharing your insights. Especially my sister might not be fond of what I enjoy doing with men."
"Definitely not!" he agreed.
The door opened –well, rather smashed against the wall, but forget that tiny detail- and Severus came through, wearing a rather worried expression –desperate would be the word-.
"Monica, I… Am I interrupting something?"
"Barely my farewells, as I'm off to the kitchen" answered Jack. "Take it easy, Severus. Sit down. No matter what the problem is, it will be solved until New Years Eve, mark my words."
"I'm not so sure…" Severus answered as the other man patted him on the shoulder and left. "He's an odd character."
"You don't know half of it" Monica answered. "I've been studying texts about him for a long time now and I'm very pleased I finally got to meet him. What happened? You look disheveled."
"I told Amala that I loved you and things didn't come out too well. She is under the impression that I was dumping her and everything went completely downhill."
"Ouch" Monica replied, hugging him closely. "Don't worry, it'll be ok. Find her, tell her what you meant and then give her a bit of time for herself to sort things out. It'll be just fine."
She kissed him briefly and he frowned.
"You smell like Strois."
Monica laughed merrily.
"He asked me to take the History of Magic class and teach it, so I did. He was a bit overexcited and hugged and kissed me, not that I'd be complaining. I don't mind, as you well know. Now, sit down, relax. Let me bring you something to drink and we'll send a house elf to scout for my niece. She's rather resourceful when it comes to hiding as I found out when my sister pissed her off and she ended up hiding under my bed for a night."
Severus looked amused for a second. He sat down on Monica's couch and sighed deeply.
"Talking of which, where are your sister and her husband? I haven't sent them in quite awhile."
"Want me to call for them, Sev?" Monica asked as she stepped into her bedroom to fetch something to drink.
"Good heavens, no! But I was curious."
She came out holding two mugs and a coffee pot. She put them on the table and filled both mugs. Severus looked in surprise at the brownish liquid.
"Warm chocolate?"
"My resources told me it's wealthier than coffee and an aphrodisiac. Imagine that…" she winked. "Plus, I happen to like warm chocolate a lot. Relax, Sev. We'll take care of things."
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Amala was on Hermione's favorite spot, crying. She hadn't found the other girl in the dorm and so now she was at the other place she was most likely to appear: her seat in the library. She wanted everything to be back the way it was before her parents had come… where were they anyway? Oh, never mind, she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to be back with Sev, and yet she knew she'd never be.
After all, Mona was now a Professor here, was she not? And if her and Sev had been very close while they'd been separated, imagine how they'd be now… Inseparable. Amala never stood a chance. She had nothing to offer, nothing to give…
She heard feet on the stone floor and she lifted her head, wishing it were Hermione. It wasn't. It was a blonde boy with blue eyes who was looking at her in a surprised fashion.
"Hey, what's up?" he said in a concerned way.
"I feel like an idiot" she said hoarsely.
"Aw, don't say that." He made a few steps towards her before grinning. "Not to a Ravenclaw, at least. We don't like people who aren't as smart as us, see, and you look to me as a very smart one, so don't ruin the impression."
Amala smiled, taking it for what it was meant to be: a complicated compliment.
"Can I sit?" he asked.
"Sure."
"Hey, you're Snape's girlfriend, right?" he asked and she felt tears welling up in her eyes and a lump rising in her throat. It was a surprised she managed to even croak "Not any more" before she started crying again. She was acting like an idiot and she knew it, but it was so painful she didn't care.
"What happened?"
Amala considered telling him for a second and then decided she couldn't care less about consequences.
"He fell in love with my aunt."
"The bastard" the boy said, looking darkly toward the other side of the library, careful so nobody heard him. Especially not Snape. Luckily, only Madam Pince was walking around and she didn't seem to notice them.
"Don't say that!" Amala nearly cried and madam Pince shot her an evil look, making the girl hush down. "My fault really: I've nothing to offer, you see? I'm just a kid and well…"
"Did he say that?"
"No, but it's how I am" Amala answered.
"No, it's not" the boy said. "Oh, my name's Alexander, by the way."
"Amala."
"So I've heard."
Alexander put an arm around her, feeling murderous. Snape could do whatever he wanted in class, but he wasn't allowed to play with this girl's minds and make her feel like nothing. He'd see to that. He'd protect her from the Potion Master, even if he had to stand against the Professor. She was a beautiful girl, he'd seen her more than once, and she was bright and charming and didn't deserve to have her life ruined by a ghoul of a man.
He'd see that that wouldn't happen.
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Jane looked Akanai in the eyes.
"You know what I say? I say let's make a small group and enter through those hollow walls Sybille told us about. We'll hit them from inside and then hit them with an army from outside."
"As good a plan as any" Akanai agreed. "What do you think, Theodore, Sybille?"
"I'm ok with it" replied the viceroy. "They might not even get a chance to release the foul Darkelings."
"It's Sigh-Bill, you idiot, so stop calling me See-you-bill-ah!" the dark woman shouted and all eyes turned towards her as she bickered with another one of Jane's council, a duchess who was particularly stiff and annoying.
"Ahem, Sybille, this is a war council held in the queen's own council room so please, show us some of your infamous noble manners" Akanai said, amused.
"My friend" Sania whispered in his ear, but loud enough for everybody to hear. "These are her infamous noble manners."
Sybille gave a loud "hmph", then said, "She's right, you know. Anyway, I agree with the plan. Let's hit them now, hit them hard and get rid of all this stupid business. I'm growing tired of it and I bet so is Potter."
"Imagine what Dumbly-door must feel" Sania snorted and everybody stared at her. "What! I heard Olympe Maxime calls him Dumbly-door!"
"That's because she's French… and she calls him Dumbly-dorr" Jane said and winked. "Okay, then, so that's the plan. Let's get it over with."
"Aye!" the men cried.
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AN: I know, it's been very long! Sorry for that… I know you'll forgive me, though. ;) I'm not in the mood to write anymore right now and I've got some stuff to do so I'd like to add only that I want to thank my wonderful reviewers a million, gazillion times! Many, many thanks to: Tsuetsu, Amarine Nightshade, GamingGuy84 (well, yes, Snape wasn't too nice in HBP… ok, more like a complete bastard and annoying person and I wanted to strangle somebody by the end of the book, but still), Phtm Fann.